Catalytic converter

ABSTRACT

A catalytic converter adapted to house a refractory element containing a catalyst for removing pollutants from the exhaust gases discharged from an internal combustion engine in which there is an open-ended casing in which said element can be carried. One end of the casing is flanged inwardly to form a seat for said element, and a ring is mounted in the opposite casing end to retain said element against said seat. A mesh sleeve is interposed between element and casing. The casing has an inlet and outlet mounted on the opposite ends thereof.

United States Patent Scheitlin et al.

[ Oct. 28, 1975 CATALYTIC CONVERTER Inventors: George E. Scheitlin; Robert Lee Vautaw, both of Columbus, Ind.

[73] Assignee: Arvin Industries, Inc., Columbus,

Ind.

[22] Filed: Nov. 9, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 305,052

US. Cl. 23/288 FC; 138/100", 138/112 Int. Cl. ..F01N 3/15; B01] 8/00; B01] 8/02 Field of Search 23/288 F, 288 FC; 60/295,

60/299; 55/DIG. 30; 138/37, 108, 112

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,189,418 6/1965 Gary 23/288 F 3,231,520 1/1966 Leak et a1. 23/288 FC UX 3,248,188 4/1966 Chute 23/288 F UX 3,441,381 4/1969 Keith et a1 23/288 F 3,441,382 4/1969 Keith et a1 23/288 F 3,597,165 8/1971 Keith et a1 23/288 F 3,692,497 9/1972 Keith et a1 23/288 F 3,754,870 8/1973 Carnahan et a1 23/288 F 3,768,982 10/1973 Kitzner et a1 .1 23/288 F 3,770,389 10/1973 Kitzner et a1. 23/288 F 3,771,967 11/1973 Nowak 1 23/288 F 3,798,006 3/1974 Balluff 23/288 F Primary E.\'aminer-Barry S. Richman Attorney, Agent, or FirmTrask, Jenkins, & l-lanley 5 7 ABSTRACT A catalytic converter adapted to house a refractory element containing a catalyst for removing pollutants from the exhaust gases discharged from an internal combustion engine in which there is an open-ended casing in which said element can be carried. One end of the casing is flanged inwardly to form a seat for said element, and a ring is mounted in the opposite casing end to retain said element against said seat. A mesh sleeve is interposed between element and casing. The casing has an inlet and outlet mounted on the opposite ends thereof.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct. 28, 1975 3,915,658

CATALYTIC CONVERTER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION One solution which has been proposed to solve the problem of removing the noxious pollutants from the exhaust gases from an internal combustion engine is to place a catalyst in a monolithic refractory element having air passages extending therethrough. Such an element and a converter for housing the element are the subject matters of US. Pat. Nos. 3,441,381 and 3,441,882.

Because of the fragile nature of the refractory material, difficulties are encountered in assembling such elements in a converter without breaking them and in mounting them in a manner in which they will have a prolonged effectiveness. Further, as shown in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 3,441,381, such converters normally employ a conically shaped inlet and outlet. The centerlines of the inlet and outlet may, in the installation of the converters in many exhaust systems, have to be angularly oriented with respect to the centerline of the refractory element. This increases the difficulty in mounting the inlet and outlet on the converter without breaking the refractory element.

It is therefore the object of this invention to provide a converter structure which will overcome the difficulties discussed above. More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a converter construction in which a refractory element containing a catalyst can be easily mounted without breaking said element and which will provide a stable mounting for said element when the converter is mounted on an automotive vehi- Clc. In addition, said invention provides such a converter construction in which the inlet and outlet can be mounted in the desired angular orientation without breaking the refractory element.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one form of the invention, there is provided an open ended casing adapted to receive a refractory element containing a catalyst for removing pollutants from the exhaust gases discharged from internal combustion engine. Said casing has one of its ends turned inwardly to form an annular flange and a collar is mounted on the opposite casing end whereby said flange and ring form a pair of seats for retaining the refractory element in a fixed axial position in said casing. A mesh sleeve extends around said element and is connected to the casing to cushion the element from the casing side walls.

Inlet and outlet caps are mounted on the opposite ends of the casing. Each of said caps is provided with a cylindrical section adapted to be connected to the exhaust system for an internal combustion engine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such drawings:

FIG. 1 is an axial section through a catalytic converter embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged transverse section taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The converter illustrated in the drawings comprises a central casing having a generally frusto-conical inlet cap 12 connected to one of its ends and a gener ally frusto-conical "outlet cap 14 connected to its opposite end. The casing side wall 15 is in the form of a closed curve. a cylinder in the embodiment shown. The side wall 15 is bent inwardly adjacent the outlet cap 14 to define an annular inwardly extending flange 16.

A cylindrical element 18 formed of a refractory material containing a catalyst for removing pollutants from the exhaust gases of an internal combusionengine is carried in the casing 10. Said element is the subject matter of US. Pat. No. 3,441,381 and constitutes no part of the instant invention. One end 17 of theelement 18 is seated against the flange 16, and an annular collar is disposed adjacent the opposite end 19 of said element. As shown, the collar 20 comprises an annular band 22 fixedly secured to the inner face of the inner casing side wall 15 and terminating at its inner end in a radially inwardly projecting flange 23 disposed against the adjacent end face ofv element 18. The flanges l6 and 23 have inner diameters smaller than the diameter of the element 18 and thus form seats disposed in overlapping engagement with the opposed ends of said element to longitudinally fixedly locate said element within the casing 10.

The flange 16 is generally normal to the axis of the casing. However, in the manufacture of the elements 18, it is not always possible to form their end faces 17 and 19 in parallelism. Thus, the end 17 can be seated against flange 16 in face to face engagement, and the collar 20 can be slightly cocked with respect to the axis of casing 10. This permits the flange 23 to seat against the end 19 of the element even though said end is out of parallelism with end 17.

In order to hold said element in spaced relation to the casing and thereby prevent it from hitting the casing and breaking, an annular sleeve 24 formed from a wire mesh is interposed between the outer circumference of said element and the inner casing side wall 15. As shown in FIG. 4, the sleeve 24 is retained in a fixed position within the casing by an annular weld 25 interconnecting said sleeve and casing.

The inlet and outlet end caps 12 and 14, which have generally frusto-conical configuration in illustrated embodiment, are substantially identical in construction. As shown in FIG. 1, the end cap 12 comprises a cylindrical inlet section 28 adapted to be connected at its outer end to an exhaust pipe or the like. The inner end of section 28 is integral with a frusto-conical section 30. The end of the section 30 opposite the section 28 terminates in a cylindrical section 32 having a diameter slightly larger than the casing 10. Section 32 overlaps the outer face of the casing 10 and is rigidly connected thereto.

The end cap 14, like end cap 12, is provided at its outer end with a cylindrical section 34 adapted to be connected to a tailpipe or the like. The inner end of said section is integral with a frusto-conical section 36 whose inner end terminates in a cylindrical section 38. Section 38 also has a diameter larger than the diameter of casing 10 and overlaps the outer face of said casing and is rigidly connected thereto.

By employing the construction illustrated in the drawings, the element 18 can be inserted into the casing and seated against the flange 16. With the element so positioned, collar 20 can be mounted within said casing to thereby position the element longitudinally therein. This permits a stabilized seating of the refractory element 18 irrespective of whether or not its end faces lie in planes normal to its axis.

ln many applications, it is necessary that the sections 28 and 34 of end caps 12 and 14 be disposed in an angular orientation with respect to the axis of casing 10, in order to connect said sections to the desired exhaust system components. By mounting the end cap sections 32 and 38 on the outer face of said casing, said end caps can be swiveled into the desired orientation before they are rigidly connected to said casing. Further, such angular orientation can be achieved without transmitting any bearing force to the element 18 carried within said casing,

While the converter has been illustrated and described herein as employing a cylindrical casing 10 and frusto-conical inlet and outlet caps 12 and 14, it is to be understood that said casing can have an elliptical cross-section and the caps 12 and 14 can have generally spherical configurations,

We claim:

l. A catalytic converter for removing the pollutants from the exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine, said converter comprising an open ended casing having a side wall in the form of a closed curve, a monolithic catalytic refractory element housed within said casing, said side wall having one of its ends turned radially inwardly to define an annular first flange, a collar having an annular band and a second flange projecting radially inwardly therefrom, said band being secured to but not integral with the inner face of said casing in a position with respect to said first flange and the axis of said casing whereby said first and second flanges seat against and directly contact the upstream and downstream ends of said element irrespective of the angular disposition of the ends on said element with respect to each other, an exhaust gas inlet means connected to the outer face of said side wall at said other end of said casing, an exhaust gas outlet means connected to said one end of said casing and being fixedly connected to the outer face of said side wall, and an annular wire mesh screen interposed between the inner face of said casing and the outer circumference of said element and between said first and second flanges for holding said element in spaced relation to said casing 

1. A CATALYTIC CONVERTER FOR REMOVING THE POLLUTANS FROM THE EXHAUST GASES OF AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE, SAID CONVERTER COMPRISING AN OPEN ENDED CASING HAVING A SIDE WALL IN THE FORM OF A CLOSED CURVE, A MONOLITHIC CATALYTIC REFRACTORY ELEMENT HOUSED WITHIN SAID CASING, SAID SIDE WALL HAVING ONE OF ITS ENDS TURNED RADIALLY INWARDLY TO DEFINE AN ANNULAR FIRST FLANGE, A COLLAR HAVING AN ANNULAR BAND AND A SECOND FLANGE PROJECTING RADIALLY INWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID BAND BEING SECURED TO BUT NOT INTEGRAL WITH THE INNER FACE OF SAID CASING IN A POSITION WITH RESPECT TO SAID FIRST FLANGE AND THE AXIS OF SAID CASING WHEREBY SAID FIRST AND SECOND FLANGES SEAT AGAINST AND DIRECTLY CONTACT THE UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM ENDS OF SAID ELEMENT IRRESPECTIVE OF THE ANGULAR DISPOSITION OF THE ENDS ON SAID ELEMENT WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER, AN EXHAUST GAS INLET MEANS CONNECTED TO THE OUTER FACE OF SAID SIDE WALL AT SAID OTHER END OF SAID CASING, AN EXHAUST GAS OUTLET MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID ONE END OF SAID CASING AND BEING FIXEDLY CONNECTED TO THE OUTER FACE OF SAID SIDE WALL AND AN ANNULAR WIRE MESH SCREEN INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE INNER FACE OF SAID CASING AND THE OUTER CIRCUMFERENCE OF SAID ELEMENT AND BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND FLANGES FOR HOLDING SAID ELEMENT IN SPACED RELATION TO SAID CASING INNER FACE. 